Dan Patrick Blames Black Lives Matter Movement for Dallas Shooting

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick joined a handful of other Texas Republican officials Friday in blaming previous Black Lives Matter protests for the shooting in Dallas that left at least 5 police officers dead.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick assures the audience at the Freedom, Faith and Fellowship event May 12, 2016 that he will uphold conservative principles as leader of the Texas Senate in 2017.
The Texas Tribune/Bob Daemmrich

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*Correction appended.

Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick joined a handful of other Texas Republican officials Friday in blaming Black Lives Matter protests for the shooting in Dallas Thursday night that left at least five police officers dead.

"I do blame people on social media with their hatred towards police," Patrick said during an interview on Fox News on Friday. He added that, despite the "peaceful" nature of last night's protests, he blames previous Black Lives Matter events for the incident.

In a separate tweet, he said the "hands up, don't shoot" rhetoric often used in Black Lives Matter events "is a lie" the media needs to dispel.

U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, also pointed to the movement as a source of tension during an appearance on Fox Business and said President Obama has been "divisive" in his handling of tensions between African-Americans and law enforcement.

"He always comes out against the cops, but then he would usually be wrong," Gohmert said. "This administration has supported Black Lives Matter, as even as its leaders have called out for killing cops."

Such rhetoric appeared at odds with a message of unity that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott pushed Friday.

“In the coming days, there will be those who foment distrust and fan the flames of dissension,” he wrote in an open letter first published by The Dallas Morning News. “To come together - that would be the greatest rebuke to those who seek to tear us apart.”

Organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement quickly condemned the Dallas shooting and took issue with efforts to blame the movement on it.

"Black activists have raised the call for an end to violence, not an escalation of it," the group wrote in a statement Friday. "Yesterday’s attack was the result of the actions of a lone gunman. To assign the actions of one person to an entire movement is dangerous and irresponsible."

Abby Livingston and Jim Malewitz contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's criticism of protesters in Dallas. What he actually said was, "What hypocrites!"

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